Poisoned
by mashimoshi
Summary: Someone wants Aramis dead, and they will do anything to get the job done, even if it means poisoning the First Minister France.
1. Chapter 1

**New story! Praise the Lord! Please, don't forget to review and tell me what you think. You know how much I love all of your feedback.**

 **-M**

* * *

Aramis held his drink to his lips, hesitating as he listened to his beloved Anne talk about the people of France, and how many of them need better lives.

"Some of them are forced to live out there, on the streets," she was saying, pausing sometimes to take bites of her delicious food. "Many of them are just children!"

"Anne, we will do whatever we can to help those children, if that is what you wish," said Aramis, finally taking his first sip of wine.

The Queen smiled at her lover. "Thank you, Aramis," she said.

In truth, Anne loved having dinner with Aramis. Not only was this because she really wanted to be with him, but also because he was so easy to talk to. He was always so supportive, and always wanted to her her with anything and everything. Anne was just so grateful for having him at her side, and thanked God every night for giving him to her. Until he came along, she had never had such devoted and loyal followers. And that was one of the reasons she loved him.

Aramis never judged her. From the moment they met, he gave her more respect than anyone's ever given her. But it was not because she was the Queen of France. It was because she was just … her. Anne treasured that more than anything.

When the both of them were finished eating, Aramis stood up and walked over to Anne. He took her hands in his own and planted a gentle kiss to her cheek.

Anne smiled and blushed, squeezing his hand in thanks.

The man was about to kiss her again when he fell terribly dizzy. He pulled away from Anne and closed his eyes. He swallowed and wet his lips, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Aramis?" Anne asked, placing her hands on his fore arms to keep him steady.

Aramis only grunted in return. He opened his eyes, but it seemed that h is dizzyness had only gotten worse. He felt himself hit the ground, felt his unnaturally warm skin hit the cool tiles of the Palace dining room floor. He quickly closed his eyes again.

"Aramis?!"

Amme's voice echoed through his head, fading away by each passing second.

"Oh God, Aramis, what is going on?"

He felt arms wrapping around him, somebody undressing him, and then he felt himself lying in his bed, the one he and the Queen had shared on so many occasions.

"'M fine," he mumbled, trying to push someone's probing hands away. But in reality, he most certainly did not feel…

"Doctor, what is this?" asked Anne, her eyes never straying away from Aramis' struggling form. "Why is he like this"

The medic, a tall man, maybe thirty years of age, stood up and shook his head. "I am afraid, Your Majesty," he began. "That the First Minister had been poisoned with something. And it will probably get worse."

"What symptoms will he have?" Anne questioned. A cold feeling began seeping into her heart. "Is it deadly?"

"I am not sure," the medic replied. "Perhaps if I knew what he drank before this, and if I could see what he drank out of, then maybe I could find out more. As for the symptoms … Anything could be possible. Right now we only hope and pray for the best. Hope that it will leave his system as quickly as it came."

Anne took a deep breath, placing the back of her hand against her forehead. "I will get you the cup he drank from. Hopefully it has not been washed yet." She paused. "Thank you, Doctor."

"The First Minister is a good man," the doctor said. "We often have fun talking about all kinds of medical nonsense. I will do everything I can to help him." He smiled, as if remembering… "And please, Your Highness, just call me John."

Anne returned the smile. "Alright," she said. "Thank you, John."

"Just doing my duty, both as a doctor … and as a friend."

XxXxX

John was right: Aramis _did_ get worse.

Within a couple of hours after the doctor had left, Aramis developed a nasty fever, along with chills. He was shaking nonstop, even with multiple layers of blankets on top of him.

Anne stayed with him the entire night, only leaving to put her - _their_ \- son to bed. It was so hard to keep herself calm when Louis asked for Aramis, his _real_ father. To try and keep him in bed, Anne lied and said that Aramis was incredibly busy and needed to work. She felt ashamed of herself for feeling glad when Louis believed her.

When she came back to Aramis' room, Anne immediately saw that the poor man had grown restless, and was now tossing his head from side to side, clear uncomfort written all over his, still, handsome face.

"Oh, Aramis," whispered Anne, taking one of his hands. She began rubbing her thumb over his calloused knuckle, hoping that it would somehow sooth him. "Please come back to me soon."

When Aramis finally did wake, he was weak, barely even able to pick up his hand to touch her. "Wha' … happen'd?" he whispered, closing his eyes when the dizziness took over him again.

"You have been poisoned," Anne explained, her voice somehow steady. "We do not know by what. Doctor John Hughes will do his best to find out. Then, hopefully, we will be able to find out who did this to you. How are you feeling?"

Aramis winced as he tried to sit up and failed. He sighed quietly, opening his tired eyes to look at Anne. "I'm alright," he said softly. "I'll be fine-"

He coughed suddenly, using his sleeve to suppress it.

What neither of them expected was to find Aramis' blood staining his shirt when he took it away from his mouth. Aramis' eyes widened, his mind barely able to process what he was seeing. "What is happening to me?" he asked, wiping more blood off his mouth.

"I will get the doctor, Aramis," said Anne. Her voice was filled with fear. "I will be right back."

XxXxX

After checking up on Aramis again, and finding nothing that could tell him about the poison, John left once more to study the contents of what his patient had drank before.

"The poison should leave his system within a week," he had explained to Anne. "I cannot help him, but I would suggest you give him the medicine I gave you. It should help in at least some way."  
Anne agreed and promised to give Aramis the medicine.

Once John had left the room, she walked over to her lover's bed and sat down. She cupped Aramis' face with her hand, smiling slightly when he leaned into her touch. "Is there anything you need before I retire?" she asked him. She really did not want to him any longer…

"Please … Stay."

Those two words practically made Anne's heart shatter into a million pieces. Slowly and carefully, Anne undressed, and then slipped under the covers, pressing her body closer to Aramis' trembling form. Shaking felt his arms weakly wrapping around her, and she quickly took one of his hands and brought it to her chest.

"You will get through this, Aramis," she heard herself say. "Know that everything will be alright." She kissed his hand, as if trying to assure him.

But Aramis could clearly see that she was just trying to assure herself. Because she was even more terrified than him. So instead of saying anything, he just kissed the top of her head and shut his eyes. "Sleep," he murmuring. "You need it."

Anne was quick to obey. She forced herself to focus on Aramis', now, raspy breathing, trying hard _not_ to pay attention to how hard he was shaking.

 _Dear God, please spare him,_ she said to herself. _I cannot lose him. I cannot._


	2. Chapter 2

**New chapter! I hope you enjoy! Make sure to read and review! :)**

 **-M**

* * *

"Louis, no! Minister Aramis is sick!"

"But I want to see him."

Aramis felt his bed dip down under someone's weight, and he forced himself to open his eyes. Instead of seeing the Queen lying beside him … he saw his son, sitting on his knees and staring at his trusted advisor.

"Your Majesty?" he said, barely able to recognize his own voice. "Is everything alright?" He looked to Anne, who had an apologetic expression written all over her lovely face.

"Mama said that you were sick," Louis replied.

"Yes, I am quite unwell," said Aramis. "But do not worry, I will be back to my duties of helping you and your mother very soon."

The young King smiled. "Do you promise?" he asked.

In return, Aramis nodded. "I promise."

Suddenly, Louis leaned in and hugged Aramis. Thankfully, he did not pay attention to the small gasp that escaped his real father's mouth. When he pulled away, the boy smiled, and said, "Feel better, Aramis."

"Thank you, Majesty," Aramis whispered, allowing himself to hug his son tighter.

With that, Louis jumped off the bed and ran into another room, laughing and giggling.

Aramis looked to Anne, who was smiling. She shook her head as she came to her lover's bed. "I am sorry," she said. "He pried it out of me. I had hoped that I could keep him thinking that you were busy, and that you couldn't have any distractions, but Louis has his ways of getting people to talk." She leaned in and planted a small kiss to his temple, taking his hand. "He gets it from you."

The man chuckled, a pale smile gracing his lips.

Right at that time, they heard a knock at the door. "Come in," said Anne, a smirk on her face.

It was Constance that came in. "Knock, knock," she said, carrying a tray of food over Aramis' bedside table.

"Constance, how wonderful to see you!" Aramis exclaimed. He watched her as she sat down and kissed his cheek gently. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, d'Artagnan, unfortunately, could not make it," Constance explained. "He had some business to attend to. And with Porthos is still at the front and Athos who _knows_ where … I decided to come visit, to see how you are feeling. How are you, by the way?" She looked at Anne. "He looks pale, do we know what he had been poisoned with?"

"I have been better, Constance, thank you," replied Aramis. "But I have a feeling that the poison _is_ leaving my system, which is a relief."

"Doctor Hughes has no idea what the poison is," said Anne. "He thinks it is a mix of substances. He also thinks that it may get worse." She sighed. "I just hope that you are right, Aramis, and that it is leaving you your system."

"Knowing you, Aramis, you will be just fine," Constance said. "He has survived through _a lot._ I do not even know how he does it."

"It's a gift," Aramis joked, bowing his head slightly.

The two women laughed.

When the laughing fit ceased, Constance reached for the tray of food she brought it and put it on Aramis' lap. "Eat," she said. "In order to get your strength back, you need to."

Aramis looked at the tray and smiled. "What, no wine?" he asked, fake disappointment in his voice.

Constance scoffed and playfully slapped his arm. "You watch yourself," she said. "We want you to get better, not to get sicker." She ruffled his hair a little. "Now, when you are done, get more rest."

"Yes, Constance," said Aramis, his eyes full of light.

XxXxX

Anne dashed to his room when she heard the screams.

"Mama, why is Minister Aramis screaming?" Louis asked, stopping the Queen dead in her tracks.

"Go back to sleep, Louis," she replied. "I am sure it's nothing."

She was so grateful when he obeyed.

As she burst through the doors, she saw Aramis, twisting and turning, lost in a cruel nightmare.

 _The Doctor was right,_ thought Anne, trying to stifle the tears.

She fell on her knees beside her lover and took both of his hands. "Aramis, it is I, Anne," she said. "You are safe, I promise. You have nothing to worry about, this is just a nightmare. Come now, Aramis, please, open your eyes for me."

"Please, don't touch her," Aramis mumbled weakly, his voice trembling. "I beg of you."

"Aramis?!"

"No!"

Hearing his broken cry made Anne's heart shatter. She brought his hand to her lips and kissed it gently, watching as her tears fell on his pale skin. "Please, Aramis," she begged. "Please wake up."

Finally, his eyes snapped open, and he gasped. "Anne?" he whispered. "You're here?" He brought his hand up to touch her face; he needed to know that this was real. Anne did not move. Instead, she leaned into his touch.

"I am here, Aramis, I promise you," she said. "I am safe, and so are you. I will go fetch Doctor Hughes, alright? I will be right back."

"No."

Anne suddenly felt Aramis' hand holding her wrist; he was shaking.

"Please, don't go."

She was quick to sit down beside him and gather him into her arms. She stroked his head as he shivered, mumbling nothingness into his ear to try and comfort him.

Soon enough, he fell asleep again, too exhausted to try and fight off his mind's command. His breathing was rather raspy, which was what concerned Anne even more.

After sitting with him for half an hour or so, Anne decided that she needed to get the Doctor.

"Nightmares and hallucinations are normal. Most likely, there will be more," the man explained.

When hearing those words, Aramis just about sunk back into the covers. He sighed, closing his eyes. "Do you know what it is I have been poisoned with?" he asked quietly.

"I am sorry, my friend, but no," John replied. "I will keep looking. I have a feeling that this is a mix of poisons, and I doubt that I will be able to find out. But that isn't important. What is important is that this will have to leave your system at one point, and when it does happen, you will be just fine. For now, you just have to hang in there, and wait."

Aramis nodded.

"In the meantime, I will send guards to try and find the person who did this to you," said Anne, smiling at him. "Whoever it is, they will get what they deserve. You most definitely do not deserve any of this, Aramis." She spoke the last sentence in a quiet murmur.

"Thank you, John," Aramis said, nodded his head at the doctor. "You have been a great help."  
"I only hope you get better soon, Aramis," the doctor replied. "In the meantime, I will do all that I can to try and speed up your recovery."


	3. Chapter 3

**So this is the last chapter!! Yes I know, I haven't updated in a while, but I blame this bitch called life for that. I hope you can forgive me!**

 **Also, this is sorta like a mini fic, as you can see. Please make sure to read and review because this means a lot to me. Thanks for all the support! I can't wait to work on the next story for you guys!! See you next time!**

 **-M**

* * *

As days passed, this strange poison slowly began leaving Aramis' system. Thankfully. But the progress was still incredibly slow.

Soon enough, Aramis began feeling the urge to get up and move around. And no matter how much, both, Anne and Constance tried to convince him out of it, the man was determined, and was on his feet within a couple of hour.

As he stood in front of his room's large window, watching rain falling down the glass, when he felt somebody tapping his leg. Turning around, he saw little Louis, tugging on his pant leg. "Your Majesty!" he exclaimed, bowing his head slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Mama said I could come visit," the young King replied. Aramis could easily tell that his mother had never allowed him to visit. But he decided to play along. "So I did."

Aramis chuckled quietly and knelt down to reach Louis' height. "And for that, I am grateful."

Louis grinned, his eyes sparkling.

"Louis!" Anne's familiar voice called. "Louis, where are you?"

Suddenly, the boy's smile disappeared. "Uh-oh," he said. With that, he ran off, dashing past his mother as she stepped through the door. She gasped slightly as her son ran like his life depended on it.

Aramis scoffed, shaking his head. Anne chuckled, and walked over to her Minister. "How are you feeling, Aramis," she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Better," replied Aramis, smiling. "I am recovering. Slowly."

"Well, I have even better news for you," said Anne. She leaned towards him and kissed his cheek. "I found out who did this to you."

A puzzled expression crossed Aramis' face. "Oh?" he said. "Who?"

"You wouldn't believe it," Anne began. "It was servant. Apparently, he was still caught up with the past, and did not like that two 'Spaniards' were part of government. He said many … many rude things about you."

Aramis shook his head once more. "What happened to him?" he asked. He had to know.

"We were about to send him to the Bastille … But when we came back after his first interrogation, he had drank the same poison he gave you, just in much bigger dose. We could not have saved him."

The First minister sighed. "That's alright," he said finally. "At least you found out…"

Anne nodded. "At least." She closed her eyes. "I just wish I could have done-"

She was cut off when Aramis kissed her ever so gently. She returned his sweet motion by kissing him right back, almost sinking into his arms.

"Anne, you did what you could," Aramis whispered once pulling away. "What matters is that this is all over. I will recover, and we have figured out who caused all this. We don't have to worry about anything else."

The Queen smiled. "Now, I have a feeling you're hungry. How about we have a quiet lunch outside? You need some fresh air and the rain has cleared up."

"That would be wonderful, Anne, thank you," replied Aramis. He kissed her once more and then took her hand, interlocking his fingers with her own.

Anne squeezed her lover's gentle hand, beginning to pull him out of the room. In a couple of minutes, they arrived at the gardens, where a small table was already set up and was filled with delicious looking food.

Constance was already sitting at the table, smiling brightly.

Aramis couldn't help but grin.

XxXxX

After lunch, the three adults decided to talk. About anything and everything.

Aramis asked about his friends, wanting to know what was happening to them. Constance had explained that Porthos was still at the front, sending letters almost every week. Athos was still somewhere with Sylvie. He had send a letter to the garrison when his first ever child was born. It was a boy. They declined to name him Rene. Aramis was truly touched. Constance had also explained that her husband was busy rebuilding the garrison - and the job was slowly coming along - and recruiting Musketeers. He was enjoying it.

Aramis was glad.

"Now what about you, Aramis?" Constance finally said. "I never even asked you how you are fairing with being First Minister."

Aramis chuckled, taking a sip of his - thankfully - non-poisoned wine. "Well, it definitely has its moments," he replied, smiling.

Constance and Anne burst into laughter; Anne even playfully hit his arm. His smile only got wider.

It was then that Louis found them. When his eyes fell on his favorite First Minister, he gasped and dashed over to where he was sitting.

"Aramis! Aramis!" he was yelling.

The man grunted when his son jumped into his lap, patiently waiting for him to hug him. When recollecting himself, Aramis did just that.

"Louis, Aramis is ill," Anne scolded, slight amusement in her voice. "You should know better."

The young King hung his head. "I am sorry, Mama," he said. "I only wanted Aramis to tell me a story."

Anne quietly scoffed. "Only if Aramis is up to it," she said, locking gazes with her lover.

"Of course I am up to it, Majesty," replied Aramis, smiling. "What would you like to hear?"

And so for the next hour, Aramis told Louis more of his adventures as a Musketeer. By the time he finished, he was feeling rather tired.

"Alright, Louis, time to go," Constance said. Aramis smiled at her. "How about we go see what the kitchen has for us to eat?"

The boy clapped his hands, and the two of them were off.

Aramis sighed, running a hand through his head. He watched as Anne took his hand and squeezed.

"Come," she said. "Let's go walk around, shall we?"

XxXxX

Once finding a dry bench to sit on, Aramis and Anne just enjoyed each other's silence.

The Queen had her head atop her Minister's shoulder, and one hand on his lap, the other in his hand.

Aramis was content in resting his chin on Anne's head, kissing her head every once in awhile.

"How are you feeling?" Anne finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Better," said Aramis. "I enjoy sitting here with you."

Anne looked up, her big eyes searching his own. Aramis was quick to close the distance between them, and felt her melt into his arms.

The kiss was soft and gentle and understanding - Anne understood that he still needed time. The kiss, in a way, was sad. One with passion, but also with control.

It was Aramis' favorite type of kiss. Within it, so many emotions were expressed. And that was what he loved.

He was forced out of his thoughts when he tasted tears in his mouth. Opening his eyes, he realized that Anne was crying.

"Why are you crying, Anne?" he asked softly. "What is the matter?"

The Queen sniffled, resting her forehead against his own. "I just … I do not what I would if I lost you," she whispered.

In return, Aramis wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Oh, Anne," he said, kissing her temple. "You will never lose me. I will always be here, at your side. I will be with you no matter what. Remember that. Always."

He kissed her again, for reassurance.

When they pulled away, they just cuddled against each other, saying nothing, but thinking about each other.


End file.
